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DURBAN - Eight schoolchildren died when their bus driver "lost control of the vehicle" and it overturned on the R66 between Ulundi and Kwaceza.

Five more youngsters had critical injuries and a further 20 minor injuries after the crash on Tuesday evening as the bus was taking the children, from Richards Bay, to Kwaceza.

CRASHES, NOT ACCIDENTS

The report did not say if the driver survived.

"Investigations to establish the cause of the accident have started," a spokesman told the media.

Wheels24says: OK, now go back to the first paragraph. EIGHT! Eight kids dead and the usual euphemism deployed by the authorities: "The driver lost control and the vehicle overturned." Is there a song-sheet that ANC officials read from in such a circumstance, as if the bus/truck/taxi had a will of its own, barely restrained by a human and a steering-wheel?

We've said it before: here it is again: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A ROAD 'ACCIDENT'. Can road traffic officials (and sub-editors on Sapa and the news media who should know better!) please stop the parrot-speak and tell it like it is. Such events are "crashes" and they're caused by bad, careless, stupid, ignorant drivers doing something seriously wrong.

The blame for this lies with the ruling party and its officials which/who either refuse or are simply too lazy to do anything about driving standards other than mouth platitudes and "visit the parents and the school". Here's scary: Half of all drivers on South African roads have not passed a driving test or do not possess a legal driving licence; thousands of minibus taxis are death traps; their drivers are not required to have a public service driving licence, which should be tough to get.

And all of this, in our view, because the ANC does not wish to alienate a large bloc of the very people who, for whatever reason, voted it into power.

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